A tsunami of TV cooking shows and celebrity chefs have contributed to America's fascination with raising the bar on their food and beverage experiences -- meetings, incentives, and corporate gatherings included. Meeting professionals report that attendees comment on the F&B portion of a program more than anything else. Americans' tastes have become more sophisticated, and attendees yearn to try ever more inventive menus and partake in memorable culinary experiences.
To help understand where these tastes and preferences are heading, Successful Meetings went straight to the source -- speaking with influential chefs to tap into the trends affecting today's gatherings, while also learning about the challenges of hosting a high-end F&B event. Here is what they had to say.
CHEF DANIEL BOULUD
French chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud is a master of both traditional French cuisine and more adventurous culinary flourishes. He's chef-owner of award-winning restaurants, including the flagship two-Michelin-star DANIEL, one-Michelin-star Cafe Boulud, contemporary Parisian eatery db bistro moderne, charcuterie-focused Bar Boulud, Mediterranean-oriented Boulud Sud -- and that's just in New York. With numerous James Beard awards (among many other awards) under his toque blanche, he continues to attract diners to his restaurants, offering memorable dishes centered on tradition.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
I did the 75th anniversary of Time magazine at Rockefeller Center, where there were people of the year and anybody who was important in any field -- politics, sports, tech, fashion, cinema, business -- they were all there. It was the biggest gathering I'd ever seen in my career. Christopher Reeve was there, Gorbachev was there, Bill Gates was there, all the living former American presidents. For that, you're serving 800 people and they're all VIP. I made a wonderful crab salad to start. After that was a lamb Champvallon -- a dish of potato, onion, and lamb chop with herbs inside and that was braised for hours, so it was falling off the bones. It was very rustic and country-style cooking.
They loved it -- it wasn't about "I love my meat well done" or "I love my meat rare." Sometimes you have to accommodate based on the number of people you serve and how sure you are that you're going to please everyone with something unexpected. It was a crowd-pleaser, with everyone raving about it. We cooked it in 140 copper pots that the waiters served directly out of.
In September, at DANIEL, I am doing a charity gala for which I'm co-chair with Thomas Keller -- Ment'or. I'll have 14 chefs cooking with me. Sometimes we have special events where we have French chefs coming to join us, which is super fun as well.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
We are very conscious that when you do an a la carte menu, every course is balanced. When you do a multicourse tasting menu with a guest, they know who they are inviting, who they are entertaining, and what their friends or guests or business partners will like to have. If they say "let's have red meat," we have so many options, from squab to duck to lamb to venison, and of course there is beef (we have a fantastic farm from Midland, TX, where they have the wagyu beef, and we also serve that in our private dining area).
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
Catering is a very different proposition than dining at the restaurant. It's a one-on-one relationship. In the restaurant, they have more confidence they can leave it to us, but with catering, they want to take control in the decisions of everything.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
We always have a seasonal menu at DANIEL -- we have foragers and fishermen working for us, and the menu is very much tied with the current a la carte that we have. It depends on the style of the party or time of the day. For special events, at lunch at DANIEL, we may have a launch of a new brand of cosmetic or new fashion brand that have a relation with health or well-being, and we try to connect the dishes with that -- it might be vegetarian choices in our menu.
In the spring, we had a salad with fresh heart of palms from Hawaii -- it's a beautiful product, very crisp, very delicate. We also have sea lettuce -- between cucumber and lettuce and very delicious when lightly steamed and seasoned, served with light seafood.
Seafood is always in demand: lobster, langoustine (we have beautiful light langoustine from Scotland), crab from Maine, or king crab from Alaska. Sea urchin is good for cocktails.
CHEF JOHN KARANGIS
Chef John Karangis began his New York culinary career in the kitchen at Union Square Cafe. From there, he worked in kitchens including Gramercy Tavern and Square One in San Francisco. He then became the executive chef at Restaurant Associates, and later Goldman Sachs. With his return to Union Square Hospitality Group, Karangis brings his passion for excellence and hospitality to the Union Square Events team.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
The Robin Hood Foundation gala, an annual fundraiser that requires a menu and a team to serve a high-end experience to 4,000 guests.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
We see our guests wanting to interact with our chefs to understand more about our culinary philosophy, product-sourcing practices, and menu customization. So I'd say that our chefs have partnered more than ever with our sales team in an effort to provide a really thorough and thoughtful experience leading up to an event, as well as the event itself. It's worked out brilliantly for all involved.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
I've seen a lot of sharing plates, large-format platters, and family-style and/or communal dining that focuses on foods that are thoughtful, delicious, and inventive, all without requiring a high budget.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
Vegetables, greens, and grains. Proteins are and always will be important, but vegetables are now more than ever appreciated and as important as anything on the plate. I'm proud of how we choose to source, cook, and serve our vegetables, which is with the same appreciation and love as we would any fancy ingredients. n Alex Palmer contributed reporting to this story.
Questions or comments? Email [email protected]
This article appears in the September 2017 issue of Successful Meetings.
CHEF STEPHAN PYLES
A fifth-generation Texan, Stephan Pyles is one of the originators of modern southwestern cuisine. He has authored four cookbooks and hosted two seasons of the Emmy-winning PBS series New Tastes from Texas. After selling his restaurants in Dallas, Las Vegas, and Austin, Pyles took a five-year sabbatical that let him study, write, and teach in Latin America, the Eastern Mediterranean, Spain, and India, learnings from which he incorporated into his menus. Pyles was the first person in the Southwest to win a James Beard award for Best Chef and the first Texan inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. He has been named Chef of the Year by The Dallas Morning News and Esquire.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
Last fall, I planned and executed a dinner for 140 people at a ranch where we built seven fires and roasted three pigs, two whole lambs, three cuts of beef, whole salmons, two goats, and 40 pheasants. The menu was supplemented with a ceviche station, local farm vegetables, and elaborate desserts. There was one long table that seated the 140 guests. We supplied florals, lighting, music, and, of course, staffing.
What high-end trends are you seeing?
I see a return to more formal, fine dining. At my most current restaurant, Flora Street Cafe [in Dallas], we execute exacting service standards in a setting with silver-plated flatware and fine china.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
Tacos are very popular still and can act as a conduit for creative fare. At Stampede 66, some of our most popular tacos are fried-oyster tacos with jicama cole slaw and crispy sweetbread tacos with foie gras jam. Craft cocktails are a hot item currently and are generally no more expensive than standard call liquor cocktails.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
In my neck of the woods, those ingredients are ones from Mexico and further south -- some more adventurous than others that include huitlacoche, epazote, hoja santa, rattlesnake and chapulines (grasshoppers).
What do you see as the next big thing?
Mexican cuisine and ingredients will become more mainstream.
What trends are cooling down?
The term "farm-to-table" has been overused and used for improper promotional purposes. As chefs, using local produce at the peak of its season should be the standard, not the exception.
CHEF MICHAEL MINA
Chef Michael Mina's experience has spanned the culinary spectrum, from starting his first job at the age of 15 as a chef garde manger in a French restaurant to becoming opening chef of the upscale seafood restaurant, Aqua in San Francisco. In 2002, he founded the Mina Group with partner Andre Agassi and has opened more than 30 concept restaurants, a lounge, and a market including MICHAEL MINA, Clock Bar, RN74, Bourbon Steak, Arcadia, A Stonehill Tavern, STRIPSTEAK, Wit & Wisdom Tavern, Pub 1842, and more. The newest of his ventures and second Hawaii eatery, The Street, A Michael Mina Social House in Honolulu, is a curation of 13 communal food stalls including Little Lafa, a restaurant concept derived from his childhood upbringing and mother's kitchen.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
Over the years, there have been many over-the-top and elaborate events. One that stands out in my head is an event we did for George Lucas' 70th birthday at Skywalker Ranch. It was surreal to be there with all of the amazing, talented people who have made a huge impact in the arts.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
We see a lot of "movable feasts" -- they're taking over the traditional buffet. It's got incredible impact when there's a high-caliber chef working an action station right in front of you, for example Chef Ken Tominaga from our Pabu restaurant doing hand rolls. Guests love the direct interaction they get with him, and the personalized attention makes the event stand out. Other popular stations include pasta with truffles shaved directly onto guests' plates.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
No matter the budget, we always work with our guests to make their events special. It became more popular to find creative ways to open up the kitchens so that they provide not only food to the guests, but entertainment as well.
What are the most popular ingredients that foodies are excited about right now?
As a chef, I'm always excited about what's in season and fresh. We're in the throes of stone-fruit season, so that's what's exciting to me right now. Thinking about what's hyper-seasonal and how to incorporate it into everything we do.
CHEF CHARLIE PALMER
Chef and hospitality entrepreneur Charlie Palmer has dozens of notable restaurants across the country, including Aureole in New York as well as Las Vegas; four outlets of Charlie Palmer Steak, along with a fifth on the way in downtown Napa; Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, CA; and Harvest Table in St. Helena, CA. Palmer also oversees a growing collection of boutique hotels, including Hotel Healdsburg in Sonoma County and Harvest Inn in Napa Valley, and is the author of six cookbooks, including his newest, Charlie Palmer's American Fare.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
Each year I host our annual Pigs & Pinot event in Sonoma County at Hotel Healdsburg, which is a weekend-long series of dining and seminar-style events. We're so proud that the size of Pigs & Pinot grows each year, and this year we had over 1,000 guests attend the different events and raise money for Share Our Strength and local Sonoma County charities and organizations. Throughout the weekend, we have multiple wine and food events that all celebrate two of my favorite all-time ingredients: pork and pinot noir.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
Customization is key. At Upper Story by Charlie Palmer, our team is dedicated to making whatever custom and unique idea our host might have in their head into a reality. No idea is too far-fetched or small. If anything, our culinary team loves the challenge.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
In our restaurants, we've noticed that our guests are moving towards ordering and eating in a shareable, "family-style" manner. So in response, we have changed the formatting of some of our menus to encourage that type of ordering. We have also introduced more community tables in our restaurants, whereever it makes the most sense.
This shareable style of eating has also been increasingly requested in the events that we host. We love serving large-format cuts of meats or family-style dishes to groups, accompanied by a large plate of vegetables and various other sides.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
Earlier this year, we decided to adjust the menu format of my flagship restaurant, Aureole, to reflect a lighter, more seasonally driven, more shareable, liberating menu. Since moving to Sonoma County 15 years ago, I've had the opportunity to connect with local farmers and purveyors and focus on using whole, real ingredients in my kitchens.
CHEF CENOBIO CANALIZO
For more than 20 years, Chef Cenobio Canalizo has helped to shape the menus of GlazierWorks, a family-run hospitality group known for its famous Strip House brand, where he was the executive chef before moving to Michael Jordan's The Steak House N.Y.C., located in New York City's iconic Grand Central Station.
Inspired by his mother's cooking, Canalizo began in the industry at the age of 17. His creativity, leadership skills, and passion for cooking helped him move up the ranks quickly. His menus include many classic steakhouse dishes with the freshest ingredients gathered from the Green Market in Grand Central. He incorporates a subtle Mexican flair into his menu, whether it's steak tacos or avocado-infused butter.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
Being located on the balcony of one of New York City's most beautiful architectural landmarks, the restaurant and bar has attracted the business of several Fortune 500 companies and celebrities. Their events typically take over the entire venue, which accommodates as many as 500 people.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
Customers and event planners are much more educated on wines and craft spirits these days. They no longer just rely on the sommelier's recommendations. We've been experiencing more requests to bring in very specific/niche craft beers, wines, and more for events. Company networking events are getting more sophisticated, with expert-hosted whiskey and Scotch tastings for groups, for example.
In addition to these trends in cocktails, for food, it's all about super-elaborate displays with company branding in an effort to get attendees to photograph and create some buzz on social media. MJ's has been introducing new customizable packages for groups to participate in scavenger hunts throughout Grand Central before or after their event.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
Rather than just offering beer and wine, planners prefer to offer beer, wine, and one specialty cocktail with a display. Picking an off-time -- groups on a budget typically go for Monday nights. Family-style rather than a prix fixe for sit-downs: It's still cost-efficient, but much more engaging for attendees.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
There has been such a huge emphasis on social media in recent years that restaurants and foodies seem to be the most excited about the visual presentation of their dish rather than specific ingredients. Sometimes the simplest ingredients are what looks best and most dramatic. Between our view of Grand Central Terminal, our meats, and lush desserts, we've been able to take advantage of this booming trend.
What trends are cooling down?
Prix fixe dinners, the phrase "farm-to-table," Pokémon-inspired anything, rainbow-colored food.
CHEF CAT CORA
The chef, author, restaurateur, and television host is best known for her featured role as the first female "Iron Chef" on Food Network's Iron Chef America. Since then, she has shattered the glass ceiling as one of the first females to dominate the historically male culinary industry and has blazed her own trail, becoming the first woman inducted into The American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame. Cora has since been featured extensively on a number of television shows, most recently as co-host on Bravo's Around the World in 80 Plates as well as Fox's My Kitchen Rules. She has opened more than 18 restaurants across the U.S. and globally, including: Cat Cora's Kitchen, Ocean by Cat Cora, Cat Cora's Gourmet Market, Kouzzina by Cat Cora at Disney World, CCQ at Macy's, Cat Cora's Taproom, OLILO by Cat Cora, Mesa Burger, and her newest addition, Fatbird Southern Kitchen and Bar in New York City.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
Health and wellness trends finally caught up to what I have been preaching for the last 20 years. Health and wellness has always been my platform for food. I think there will be even more new and innovative life-extension and longevity concepts coming for nutrition, like probiotics, kefir, as well as fitness concepts like core fitness and balance through meditation, tai chi, yoga, and other forms of wellness.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
Do-it-yourself dinner parties as well as bring-your-own-dish BBQs, wine-and-crafts concepts (paint and wine) and window garden/herb garden and wine.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
Matcha, plant-based proteins, and turmeric are three exciting foods that come to mind. I love a daily matcha.
What do you see as the next big thing?
Meal kits are hot and still getting hotter with all the online kits available. Sober-dining mixologists are mixing up more high-end nonalcoholic drinks for those shunning alcohol for healthier living. Carbs are back, vegan eating is in vogue, minerals are in, teas instead of coffee, nootropics for brain energy, matcha foods as well as other naturally attractive colors in food.
What trends are cooling down?
What I am about to list are things I still love -- I am talking popularity versus leaving for good: Molecular gastronomy seems to have been falling out of popularity. Bowls of any kind, especially smoothie bowls with fruit and granola, although I love them. Toast dishes, ramen bars, and fermenting everything, to name a few.
CHEF CAT CORA
The chef, author, restaurateur, and television host is best known for her featured role as the first female "Iron Chef" on Food Network's Iron Chef America. Since then, she has shattered the glass ceiling as one of the first females to dominate the historically male culinary industry and has blazed her own trail, becoming the first woman inducted into The American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame. Cora has since been featured extensively on a number of television shows, most recently as co-host on Bravo's Around the World in 80 Plates as well as Fox's My Kitchen Rules. She has opened more than 18 restaurants across the U.S. and globally, including: Cat Cora's Kitchen, Ocean by Cat Cora, Cat Cora's Gourmet Market, Kouzzina by Cat Cora at Disney World, CCQ at Macy's, Cat Cora's Taproom, OLILO by Cat Cora, Mesa Burger, and her newest addition, Fatbird Southern Kitchen and Bar in New York City.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
Health and wellness trends finally caught up to what I have been preaching for the last 20 years. Health and wellness has always been my platform for food. I think there will be even more new and innovative life-extension and longevity concepts coming for nutrition, like probiotics, kefir, as well as fitness concepts like core fitness and balance through meditation, tai chi, yoga, and other forms of wellness.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
Do-it-yourself dinner parties as well as bring-your-own-dish BBQs, wine-and-crafts concepts (paint and wine) and window garden/herb garden and wine.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
Matcha, plant-based proteins, and turmeric are three exciting foods that come to mind. I love a daily matcha.
What do you see as the next big thing?
Meal kits are hot and still getting hotter with all the online kits available. Sober-dining mixologists are mixing up more high-end nonalcoholic drinks for those shunning alcohol for healthier living. Carbs are back, vegan eating is in vogue, minerals are in, teas instead of coffee, nootropics for brain energy, matcha foods as well as other naturally attractive colors in food.
What trends are cooling down?
What I am about to list are things I still love -- I am talking popularity versus leaving for good: Molecular gastronomy seems to have been falling out of popularity. Bowls of any kind, especially smoothie bowls with fruit and granola, although I love them. Toast dishes, ramen bars, and fermenting everything, to name a few.
CHEF CENOBIO CANALIZO
For more than 20 years, Chef Cenobio Canalizo has helped to shape the menus of GlazierWorks, a family-run hospitality group known for its famous Strip House brand, where he was the executive chef before moving to Michael Jordan's The Steak House N.Y.C., located in New York City's iconic Grand Central Station.
Inspired by his mother's cooking, Canalizo began in the industry at the age of 17. His creativity, leadership skills, and passion for cooking helped him move up the ranks quickly. His menus include many classic steakhouse dishes with the freshest ingredients gathered from the Green Market in Grand Central. He incorporates a subtle Mexican flair into his menu, whether it's steak tacos or avocado-infused butter.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
Being located on the balcony of one of New York City's most beautiful architectural landmarks, the restaurant and bar has attracted the business of several Fortune 500 companies and celebrities. Their events typically take over the entire venue, which accommodates as many as 500 people.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
Customers and event planners are much more educated on wines and craft spirits these days. They no longer just rely on the sommelier's recommendations. We've been experiencing more requests to bring in very specific/niche craft beers, wines, and more for events. Company networking events are getting more sophisticated, with expert-hosted whiskey and Scotch tastings for groups, for example.
In addition to these trends in cocktails, for food, it's all about super-elaborate displays with company branding in an effort to get attendees to photograph and create some buzz on social media. MJ's has been introducing new customizable packages for groups to participate in scavenger hunts throughout Grand Central before or after their event.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
Rather than just offering beer and wine, planners prefer to offer beer, wine, and one specialty cocktail with a display. Picking an off-time -- groups on a budget typically go for Monday nights. Family-style rather than a prix fixe for sit-downs: It's still cost-efficient, but much more engaging for attendees.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
There has been such a huge emphasis on social media in recent years that restaurants and foodies seem to be the most excited about the visual presentation of their dish rather than specific ingredients. Sometimes the simplest ingredients are what looks best and most dramatic. Between our view of Grand Central Terminal, our meats, and lush desserts, we've been able to take advantage of this booming trend.
What trends are cooling down?
Prix fixe dinners, the phrase "farm-to-table," Pokémon-inspired anything, rainbow-colored food.
CHEF CHARLIE PALMER
Chef and hospitality entrepreneur Charlie Palmer has dozens of notable restaurants across the country, including Aureole in New York as well as Las Vegas; four outlets of Charlie Palmer Steak, along with a fifth on the way in downtown Napa; Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, CA; and Harvest Table in St. Helena, CA. Palmer also oversees a growing collection of boutique hotels, including Hotel Healdsburg in Sonoma County and Harvest Inn in Napa Valley, and is the author of six cookbooks, including his newest, Charlie Palmer's American Fare.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
Each year I host our annual Pigs & Pinot event in Sonoma County at Hotel Healdsburg, which is a weekend-long series of dining and seminar-style events. We're so proud that the size of Pigs & Pinot grows each year, and this year we had over 1,000 guests attend the different events and raise money for Share Our Strength and local Sonoma County charities and organizations. Throughout the weekend, we have multiple wine and food events that all celebrate two of my favorite all-time ingredients: pork and pinot noir.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
Customization is key. At Upper Story by Charlie Palmer, our team is dedicated to making whatever custom and unique idea our host might have in their head into a reality. No idea is too far-fetched or small. If anything, our culinary team loves the challenge.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
In our restaurants, we've noticed that our guests are moving towards ordering and eating in a shareable, "family-style" manner. So in response, we have changed the formatting of some of our menus to encourage that type of ordering. We have also introduced more community tables in our restaurants, whereever it makes the most sense.
This shareable style of eating has also been increasingly requested in the events that we host. We love serving large-format cuts of meats or family-style dishes to groups, accompanied by a large plate of vegetables and various other sides.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
Earlier this year, we decided to adjust the menu format of my flagship restaurant, Aureole, to reflect a lighter, more seasonally driven, more shareable, liberating menu. Since moving to Sonoma County 15 years ago, I've had the opportunity to connect with local farmers and purveyors and focus on using whole, real ingredients in my kitchens.
CHEF MICHAEL MINA
Chef Michael Mina's experience has spanned the culinary spectrum, from starting his first job at the age of 15 as a chef garde manger in a French restaurant to becoming opening chef of the upscale seafood restaurant, Aqua in San Francisco. In 2002, he founded the Mina Group with partner Andre Agassi and has opened more than 30 concept restaurants, a lounge, and a market including MICHAEL MINA, Clock Bar, RN74, Bourbon Steak, Arcadia, A Stonehill Tavern, STRIPSTEAK, Wit & Wisdom Tavern, Pub 1842, and more. The newest of his ventures and second Hawaii eatery, The Street, A Michael Mina Social House in Honolulu, is a curation of 13 communal food stalls including Little Lafa, a restaurant concept derived from his childhood upbringing and mother's kitchen.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
Over the years, there have been many over-the-top and elaborate events. One that stands out in my head is an event we did for George Lucas' 70th birthday at Skywalker Ranch. It was surreal to be there with all of the amazing, talented people who have made a huge impact in the arts.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
We see a lot of "movable feasts" -- they're taking over the traditional buffet. It's got incredible impact when there's a high-caliber chef working an action station right in front of you, for example Chef Ken Tominaga from our Pabu restaurant doing hand rolls. Guests love the direct interaction they get with him, and the personalized attention makes the event stand out. Other popular stations include pasta with truffles shaved directly onto guests' plates.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
No matter the budget, we always work with our guests to make their events special. It became more popular to find creative ways to open up the kitchens so that they provide not only food to the guests, but entertainment as well.
What are the most popular ingredients that foodies are excited about right now?
As a chef, I'm always excited about what's in season and fresh. We're in the throes of stone-fruit season, so that's what's exciting to me right now. Thinking about what's hyper-seasonal and how to incorporate it into everything we do.
CHEF STEPHAN PYLES
A fifth-generation Texan, Stephan Pyles is one of the originators of modern southwestern cuisine. He has authored four cookbooks and hosted two seasons of the Emmy-winning PBS series New Tastes from Texas. After selling his restaurants in Dallas, Las Vegas, and Austin, Pyles took a five-year sabbatical that let him study, write, and teach in Latin America, the Eastern Mediterranean, Spain, and India, learnings from which he incorporated into his menus. Pyles was the first person in the Southwest to win a James Beard award for Best Chef and the first Texan inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. He has been named Chef of the Year by The Dallas Morning News and Esquire.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
Last fall, I planned and executed a dinner for 140 people at a ranch where we built seven fires and roasted three pigs, two whole lambs, three cuts of beef, whole salmons, two goats, and 40 pheasants. The menu was supplemented with a ceviche station, local farm vegetables, and elaborate desserts. There was one long table that seated the 140 guests. We supplied florals, lighting, music, and, of course, staffing.
What high-end trends are you seeing?
I see a return to more formal, fine dining. At my most current restaurant, Flora Street Cafe [in Dallas], we execute exacting service standards in a setting with silver-plated flatware and fine china.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
Tacos are very popular still and can act as a conduit for creative fare. At Stampede 66, some of our most popular tacos are fried-oyster tacos with jicama cole slaw and crispy sweetbread tacos with foie gras jam. Craft cocktails are a hot item currently and are generally no more expensive than standard call liquor cocktails.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
In my neck of the woods, those ingredients are ones from Mexico and further south -- some more adventurous than others that include huitlacoche, epazote, hoja santa, rattlesnake and chapulines (grasshoppers).
What do you see as the next big thing?
Mexican cuisine and ingredients will become more mainstream.
What trends are cooling down?
The term "farm-to-table" has been overused and used for improper promotional purposes. As chefs, using local produce at the peak of its season should be the standard, not the exception.
CHEF JOHN KARANGIS
Chef John Karangis began his New York culinary career in the kitchen at Union Square Cafe. From there, he worked in kitchens including Gramercy Tavern and Square One in San Francisco. He then became the executive chef at Restaurant Associates, and later Goldman Sachs. With his return to Union Square Hospitality Group, Karangis brings his passion for excellence and hospitality to the Union Square Events team.
What is the most elaborate food and beverage function you ever planned for a group?
The Robin Hood Foundation gala, an annual fundraiser that requires a menu and a team to serve a high-end experience to 4,000 guests.
What high-end trends are you seeing now?
We see our guests wanting to interact with our chefs to understand more about our culinary philosophy, product-sourcing practices, and menu customization. So I'd say that our chefs have partnered more than ever with our sales team in an effort to provide a really thorough and thoughtful experience leading up to an event, as well as the event itself. It's worked out brilliantly for all involved.
What strategies are there for groups without big budgets?
I've seen a lot of sharing plates, large-format platters, and family-style and/or communal dining that focuses on foods that are thoughtful, delicious, and inventive, all without requiring a high budget.
What are some of the most popular ingredients right now?
Vegetables, greens, and grains. Proteins are and always will be important, but vegetables are now more than ever appreciated and as important as anything on the plate. I'm proud of how we choose to source, cook, and serve our vegetables, which is with the same appreciation and love as we would any fancy ingredients. n Alex Palmer contributed reporting to this story.
Questions or comments? Email [email protected]
This article appears in the September 2017 issue of Successful Meetings.